How to identify and mitigate risks in typical offshore software development projects
A software development project is at its most vulnerable during the planning phase.
Skilled, experienced managers can eliminate the majority of common errors from the process.
“By failing to prepare,” said Benjamin Franklin, “you are preparing to fail.” This is particularly true in software development, whether the project is tackled in-house or outsourced offshore. From planning to project delivery, software development is fraught with risk, and it affects all parties, including those creating the code, project managers and, of course, the client.
The cascade of new technology hasn’t made risk mitigation any easier. In fact, extra layers of platforms, coding language and delivery models arguably make delivery more complicated to manage. Trying to anticipate what quirks and challenges a project will yield is like trying to predict the weather. The solution, therefore, needs to include better forecasting.
With the right approach, you can anticipate risks and plan to succeed.
Disaster can strike, even on the most well-thought out project. And when it does, there’s not just your project at stake – but user experience, customer retention, not to mention your time and effort. Your reputation is also at stake if a large software development issue is likely to affect other areas.
There are two types of catastrophes you can prepare for: those that can be predicted, and unforeseen events. The first kind is better described as a “worst-case scenario”, which you do everything to avoid, but which must be prepared for nonetheless. The second kind is an act of God, which no one could see coming.
When it comes to predicting worst case scenarios, software developers try and address issues early on in the consultation process to stop them growing larger later on. These issues include:
Left unattended, these factors can result in software that simply doesn’t work, or isn’t what the client had in mind. In either case, sometimes the project has to be scrapped and recoded from scratch.
It’s hardly ever the software itself that goes wrong. Once it enters the development process, problems are usually the result of bugs – which are fixed in a thorough testing process – or undiagnosed problems early on.
When time is eaten up by scope creep, this leaves less time for testing and eliminating bugs. This leads to a less secure product, and can snowball into other issues.
Anything can – and often does – happen in the world of software development. Unpredictable events include everything you can imagine, from staff sickness, all the way up to fire and flood.
The enemy of unpreparedness is open communication. Open dialogue doesn’t solve many problems in and of itself, but when you are confident talking to your team this will help you brainstorm solutions more quickly and lessen the risk of problems getting bigger while everyone stays silent.
You never know what’s going to happen. But when working with a software developer, it helps to expect the unexpected, and be ready to tackle all challenges. The difference is, you’ve got someone on your side to help you.
that there was a clear vision and strategy underpinning delivery.
For the software vendor, planning protects long-term relationships with both clients and software development teams. Whichever side of the equation, one rule applies to all: In software development, there’s no such thing as a good surprise.
HST can help you mitigate all of these risks. Our team of experts have years of experience, and we promise no nasty surprises. From predictable pitfalls of the development process to unpredictable disasters, we’ve seen it all, and are the best choice to help make your project a reality.
